Republicans Fold on Fiscal Cliff. Only Nicholas Cage Knows How I Feel.

I was watching “The Rock” the other day. You know…the movie where some Marines take over the prison on Alcatraz Island, and threaten to fire some missiles at San Francisco if they don’t get money for Veterans or something. And the missiles have some chemicals in them that are so dangerous that the Feds need to bring in Stanley Goodspeed, aka, Nicholas “Most Dramatic Actor Ever” Cage.

So, the entirety of the movie was about Cage and Sean Connery trying to stop the Marines before they could launch the missiles. The Marines’ plan, of course, was entirely dependent upon the govt. believing they would kill everyone with the rockets if they didn’t get the money. As I’m sure you remember though, Ed Harris wasn’t about to kill 80,000 innocent people, which resulted in everybody shooting each other and Goodspeed ultimately marrying his baby mama.

While watching The Rock, I thought of the Republicans in the House, as they figured out how to screw up the whole Fiscal Cliff thing. The Senate, to no one’s great surprise, passed a bill that raised taxes on anyone earning over $450,000, while not cutting any spending. Would the Republicans in the House fall into line, or would they do their job and vote down the bill? Well, like Ed Harris, too many on the right weren’t willing to blow up a few San Franciscans with chemical weapons. See, a threat of force is only as useful as one’s willingness to use it. The Republicans could have taken a stand against more taxes, more debt, and more unemployment, but instead many, including Speaker Boehner, folded.

Some will say “but Nash, it isn’t that bad. The bill makes the Bush tax rates for everyone earning under $450,000 permanent.” Sigh. It’s only as permanent as the next bill that raises taxes on everyone. Also, the legislation contains no cuts, and allows everyone’s payroll taxes to increase. In other words, the law sucks. In fact, it sucks to badly, that the only complaint the Dems could come up with was that it only taxed estates worth over $5 million. That’s it.

How does this legislation make me feel? Much like how Nicholas Cage feels about bees.

And just to be sure the Republicans looked just as pathetic and evil as possible, Boehner also pulled the bill for Hurricane Sandy relief last night. True, the Dems had loaded it up beyond recognition with pork, but what the heck? You just said Yes to a multi-trillion dollar deal. What’s 60 billion more?